


The Desk

by Calico_Cat_TIVA_Fan



Category: NCIS
Genre: F/M, Family, Memories
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-29
Updated: 2020-09-08
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:54:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,828
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26168236
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Calico_Cat_TIVA_Fan/pseuds/Calico_Cat_TIVA_Fan
Summary: A delivery truck shows up at the DiNozzo house with a large desk. Turns out it belonged to Tony's grandfather and it triggers memories, and a challenge to get it inside. May 2021. Part of the 'You Complete Me' universe.
Relationships: Ziva David/Anthony DiNozzo
Comments: 16
Kudos: 18





	1. A Surprise Delivery

The Desk

_A delivery truck shows up at the DiNozzo house with a large desk. Turns out it belonged to Tony's grandfather and it triggers memories, and a challenge to get it inside. May 2021._

Chapter 1 – A Surprise Delivery

Ziva heard a commotion in the driveway as she was exiting the hallway from the kids' bedrooms. She had just put the twins down for a nap and hoped to catch up on some laundry before the two active toddlers were awake again. At fifteen months, the two girls were perpetually in motion and almost always into something they shouldn't be.

She peeked out the front windows to see a large delivery truck backing down towards the garage. The phone number on the vehicle's advertising was a Long Island area code. She opened the front door after grabbing her cell phone. The man walking backwards directing the driver as he slowly inched down to the garage door waved to Ziva.

"Be right with you ma'am," he smiled cheerily.

The driver parked the truck and climbed out of the cab. Both men approached Ziva who was wary, but curious as to why they were at her house. The driver checked a page on a clipboard.

"This the DiNozzo residence?" he asked, looking up at her. "Anthony D. DiNozzo, Junior, to be exact."

"Yes, it is. I am his wife," she replied. "We did not order anything."

"Oh, this is not any order, ma'am. It is a delivery for Mr. DiNozzo from the estate of Angelo DiNozzo. Sent by," he skimmed the page, "Isabella DiNozzo. I believe we have an envelope with it." He ruffled through the papers attached to his clipboard and produced a legal sized envelope with ' _Tonio_ ' written across the front.

Ziva took the envelope from the man; "You drove all this way to deliver an envelope?"

"Oh, no, ma'am. The main delivery is in the back," the two men walked to the rear of the truck with Ziva following. The second man lowered the powered lift gate and then unlocked the padlock on the truck's latch. He pushed the door upward to reveal a large object wrapped in moving pads and strapped to a pallet.

Both men hopped on the power gate and lifted to the floor of the cargo compartment. One of the men grabbed a pallet jack and the two maneuvered the large item onto the lift gate. The driver then hopped down to the ground and lowered the gate with the other man steadying the load.

"Where do you want this?" the driver asked Ziva. She used the app on her phone to open the garage door and indicated an open area inside.

"Over here is fine," she pointed to the large empty space. They'd just gotten that cleaned out the past weekend from the items Tony had brought back from his father's storage locker in New York back in the fall. The rule of empty spaces seemed to be especially applicable…

The men guided the pallet and its contents to the open space. They loosened the straps and started removing straps and pads from the large object. Ziva watched as a large, very large, desk was slowly unveiled.

"Pallet's yours; shipper paid for it, so it comes with the delivery," the driver explained as the other man put the folded pads and straps into the back of the truck. He leafed to the order page on his clipboard and produced a pen. "Sign here, at the x, please, ma'am." He pointed to a line for a signature.

Ziva skimmed the page; she would be accepting the delivery of one oak desk and its contents with her signature. She clicked the pen and put her signature on the line; then she handed the clipboard and pen back to the driver. He tore off the third copy to hand to her.

"Thank you, Mrs. DiNozzo, ma'am. We best be heading out so we can get back to New York tonight," he offered a hand and she shook it.

"Have a safe drive home," she exclaimed as she waved to the men. They climbed in the truck and exited the driveway.

Ziva looked over the desk on the pallet; it was huge. She estimated that it was about twice the size of the desk Tony currently had in his home office and much sturdier. The bill of lading said 'oak desk.' She ran a hand over the wood; the desk seemed to be very well made. She was about to explore the furniture more when she heard the girls babbling over the baby monitor app in her phone. She put the envelope and copy of the delivery papers on the desktop, closed the garage door, and went inside to tend to the toddlers.

~TIVA~

It was after the kids were all in bed that Ziva remembered to let Tony know about the desk. After she fed Rivka and Beth a snack, she got them ready to go out. First they retrieved Anthony from his preschool; then she and the three younger kids went to Tali's school to see the entire first grade perform a skit based on the lessons they had learned in the community awareness segment of grade one social studies. Tal's part was a firefighter.

The family had dinner after Tony came home and then watched a Disney favorite before bedtime. Tali and Anthony got to watch a second short video while their parents got Riv and Beth settled in for the night. When the older kids' turn came for bedtime stories, Tali reminded her Abba that it was his turn with her. She told him about the school presentation; Ziva had shared pictures with him earlier with Tali re-telling almost the entire skit.

The adults met back in the kitchen; Ziva finished putting the hand-washed pots and pans away as Tony unloaded the dishwasher. He put the last of the plates in the closet and shut the dishwasher door just as Ziva wiped the last counter.

He snaked his arms around his wife, resting his hands on the small baby bump, "Do we still have that chocolate decadence ice cream in the big freezer?"

"Mm-hmm," she leaned into his chest. She suddenly snapped straight up. At her husband's questioning look she explained, "Ice cream, big freezer, garage… I forgot to tell you about a delivery that came for you today. It is in the garage."

"I didn't order anything," he was confused. "Did you?"

"I did not; this is not an order," she continued. "It came from New York; Long Island to be more precise." She led him to the door between the kitchen and the garage. He followed her to the once-empty space near the overhead door and stopped in his tracks.

His mouth dropped slightly as he stared at the large desk on its pallet. "How? When?" he was truly at a loss for words. The last time he'd seen that desk was in 1978 – Christmas 1978 – when he and Uncle Angelo had gone to the bakery to get the cake he'd made for the holidays from the bakery cooler. It had been his grandfather's desk before it became Uncle Angelo's office desk at the bakery.

Ziva took the envelope from the desk top, "I do not know how it came to be sent here. The delivery truck came this afternoon while the girls were napping. The driver handed me this envelope to give to you. He said it was sent by Isabella DiNozzo." She handed him the envelope with its handwritten ' _Tonio_ ' in beautiful old-world penmanship.

Tony ran his finger over the letters on the envelope; Ziva could see him retreating into memories. "Aunt Isabella," he whispered her name reverently. "She loved me like a son…" Ziva watched as he ran his finger over the letters multiple times as though touching them could bring his aunt into the room.

Ziva put a hand on her husband's arm, "Perhaps we should take the letter inside, yes? You can read it and we can look at the desk tomorrow in the daylight."


	2. Memories

Chapter 2 – Memories

Tony placed the envelope on his office desk and followed Ziva to the master bedroom. He watched as she shed her clothing; almost sixteen years later she still was as beautiful as when she first walked into his heart.

"What?" she caught him staring.

"You… you never change. Still as beautiful and sexy as ever," he moved closer to her, running his eyes over her body.

Ziva snorted, "Four children, a fifth on the way… how can you say that my body has not changed?" He placed his hands on her belly. For all the years that they'd been together, she still felt fire in his touch on her body. Her heart beat quickened at his touch. Never mind that reaction definitely had something to do with the aforementioned pregnancies…

He sat on the end of their bed and tugged her hand, pulling her closer. He placed his lips on her baby bump, gently kissing around her navel. "Hello, baby," he spoke to her belly. "It's your Abba. I want you to know that you are so loved already, baby. By me, by Ima, and by your sisters and brother. Ani ohev otach." He brushed his lips across her skin again. They'd just found out two days ago that the baby was a boy.

Ziva wiped a tear from each eye; this man never ceased to surprise her with his tenderness and caring. It would be hard for anyone who knew him when he first pried open her heart and made himself at home to believe the change in him. Ziva KNEW; just as she had known way back then, that his frat boy, class clown, playboy act was just that – an act.

Tony pulled his wife into his lap, "Did I tell you today that I love you?" He peppered her neck and face with tender kisses. "And yes, your body is beautiful. Our five miracles were nurtured and brought to life within this body. The five greatest gifts you could ever give me."

He scooted further up the bed with his wife still in his lap; she wrapped her arms around his neck as he moved. Once all of him was on the bed, she pushed him backwards and straddled his hips.

"I prefer it on top," she purred into a kiss.

~TIVA~

Ziva woke up to the lack of familiar warmth at her side. She reached over to Tony's side of the bed; no husband. She glanced at her bedside clock; 0406. Tony was up early for a Saturday morning. She swung her feet over her side of the bed to get up; she headed to the bathroom to take care of that first.

Once done, she opened the door to the bedroom and noticed a faint sliver of light from the hallway to the two home offices. Of course Tony would be in his office; that's where he'd placed the letter from his aunt before the couple had gone to bed.

Ziva padded to the entry to Tony's office; she could see him at his desk with the letter in his hand. His reading glasses were perched on his nose and he seemed to be lost in thought. She made a noise to let him know she was there, knowing how he hated it when she seemingly 'used her Ninja skills to sneak up on him.' She kept explaining to her husband that she really was not sneaking up on him; it was just that all of her Mossad training was so ingrained in her mind that some things, like stealthy movement, never left.

"Hey," he looked up at her. "Sorry if I woke you; I couldn't get Aunt Isabella's letter off my mind. I think I slept all of an hour and then tossed and turned…"

Ziva ran a hand through his hair, "You did not wake me. I woke on my own but noticed that your part of the bed was empty." She placed a soft kiss on his cheek before continuing, "Do you want to share?"

Tony nodded, "I actually have not read this yet… I opened the envelope and saw Aunt Isabella's handwriting on the pages and sort of got lost in memories. She always hand-wrote the orders at the bakery, in cursive, no abbreviations… I was always fascinated at how she could write out an order so quickly and have it look so neat and legible. She'd laugh at me if she saw **my** handwriting…"

Ziva chuckled at her husband's comment about his handwriting; he shot her a glare, pretending to be offended. They made eye contact and both laughed out loud. He held up the pages of the letter from his aunt.

"Would you read it with me?" he implored. As Ziva nodded, he pulled her into his lap and placed his reading glasses on his face.

_My dearest Tonio:_

_Has it really been forty two years since you were last with Uncle Angelo and me for Christmas? I cannot remember for certain, but a lot has happened in the years in between. Your cousins blessed us with nine grandchildren. Angelo Junior had three with his first wife and four with his second wife. Therese, his first wife died in childbirth. We helped him raise the three girls until Rae came into his life. She was everything he needed and the girls all took to her easily. Their three boys and one girl completed the family. His oldest daughter has given us two great-grandchildren, a boy and a girl. Dori had a son and a daughter so close together; only fifteen months between Niko and Connie._

_We followed whatever news we could find about you, Tonio. When you played basketball for Ohio State, we watched every game that we could view on our cable TV. I still have the clipping from the newspaper when your team made it to the Sweet Sixteen. When we could no longer keep up with your life after you graduated, we were very sad. Your father refused to return Angelo's phone calls._

_But we clung to our memories of our sweet Tonio. The little boy who viewed the backyard swing set with wonder in his eyes, refusing to come inside until the very last minute for family dinner. You fought with your mother even then, begging for a few more minutes on the swings. A five-year-old who proudly carried the loaves of bread for Uncle Angelo to bring home for a family dinner; while Angelo carried a cake for the dessert. You were so proud to be the helper, Tonio. The grin on your face said it all as you followed your uncle in the back door. Your cheeks were rosy from the cold air but your eyes were filled with warmth and pride to be the chosen helper. You carried those loaves of bread as if they were the special gifts for the Baby Jesus that Christmas afternoon._

_Tonio, you were always the one doted upon; with the large age difference between you and your cousins. Angelo and Dori were nearly grown by that time. Even Vincenzo's boys and girl were teenagers. And there you were, just five years old. Vinnie's Estrella was the closest in age to you at thirteen. Had your older sister lived, she would have been closer in age to the cousins. Do you remember them all calling you "little Anthony?"_

_I am sure you do not remember your second Christmas when Dori and Estrella dressed you as an elf. In the desk are some pictures from that year and yes, there are some of you in your elf outfit. You have the big grin on your face as always. You were always a happy baby and toddler, grinning at everyone and making the family laugh with your antics. Uncle Vinnie swore that you would be a comedian someday._

_There are many pictures and some newspaper clippings in the desk for you. I made sure to get all of the pictures that have you, your mother, your father, and your sister in them for you. I even included pictures from that terrible day in November of 1976. You looked so grown up in your black suit and crisp white shirt with a tie. I still remember how proud Uncle Angelo was that you could tie your own tie at age eight! Anthony, you were so brave that day, even though inside I could see the scared boy who missed his mother._

_I have had a hard time forgiving your father for what he did to you when your mother went to be with Jesus. Angelo kept telling me to forgive Anthony, Senior for your sake. It still brings tears to my eyes when I think about how he left you in the care of strangers and then sent you away to school. I kick myself for listening to Angelo to stay out of the business of Anthony. If I had twenty-twenty foresight, I would have fought to raise you as my own._

_I do not know what was said between brothers to drive a wedge between Angelo and Anthony; only that it pained Angelo greatly to see the results as they affected you, Tonio. Uncle Angelo and I loved you dearly. Uncle Angelo went to his grave hoping to apologize to you for not trying to gain custody and raise you as our son. Only after his death did Anthony try to right things with Angelo in a letter that we received from Anthony's attorney._

_Angelo went to Heaven two days after the New Year; he had been ill for some time with emphysema and COPD. All those years of smoking destroyed his lungs. We closed the bakery in 2012 after we could not find a buyer for the business. Since we owned the building, we leased out the various floors to others until earlier this year. After Uncle Angelo passed on, I made the difficult decision to sell the building where the bakery once was, the house we lived in for sixty three years, and all of the furniture and other things that the younger generations did not want. I am moving to a senior living community; my apartment will be small compared to being in that house, but I have very few needs at my age._

_Through the family attorney, Joey Nunzio, who was also your father's attorney, I learned that he had located you last year. I wanted you to have the desk that was in the bakery as I know you appreciated the fine wood and the history of the piece. It originally belonged to your grandfather DiNozzo, who bartered his services for that desk during the Great Depression. The client was the great-grandfather of the current family attorney, so our history with their law firm dates back many generations._

_Tonio, I was so happy to hear that you have a family! Joey said that your wife was very nice (and very beautiful) and that you have four children. Tonio, I wish for you and your family much happiness and that you and your special lady have many long years together. At the end of the letter is my new address, if you care to write to your old aunt. I would love to see pictures of your family if you would share them._

_Enjoy the contents of the desk as well as the desk itself. I think you will find many memories, most of them happy ones, in the things I have sent to you._

_Dio ti benedica e ti voglio bene Tonio,_

_Isabella DiNozzo_

Tony sat quietly, digesting all that his aunt had written. He would most definitely contact her and send pictures at the least. He hoped Ziva would be agreeable to making a family trip to visit Aunt Isabella in the coming months. He would make sure she got to meet her four, soon to be five, great-nieces and nephews, and his wife. He was certain that his aunt would adore Ziva.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N For more about Tony's aunt and uncle, see "Heart Arrested" a one-shot going back to Tony's childhood. More about his immediate family in the prequel to that one shot: "Faded Photographs"


	3. A Geometry Puzzle

Chapter 3 – A Geometry Puzzle

As he had free time over that weekend, Tony cleaned out his small desk in his home office to prepare to move that desk to Anthony's room. Even though the boy was only four, he would eventually need a study space in his room for schoolwork. Since they had the desk, Ziva figured it would be a good choice for her son's room. Tony agreed.

He fussed when Ziva wanted to help him move the furniture to the opposite side of the house. He felt badly enough that he needed her help lifting the top off the two stacks of drawers that made the sides of his old desk.

"Ziva, you're pregnant," he gently reminded her. "I don't want you lifting heavy things. I can wait for Tim to come over to help me."

Ziva glared at her husband and sighed, "I am pregnant not an invalid." She helped him lift the top off his old desk and set it on the furniture dolly to be moved across the house. "Besides, this desk is not heavy. Not like the oak desk in the garage."

He tightened the strap to secure the left side column of drawers to the hand cart, "True… and you are NOT going to lift that one at all, capisci? I have the guys coming next Saturday to help." He'd promised beer and pizza to Tim, Jimmy, Clay, and Nick in exchange for some manual labor. Jimmy had also promised to bring his brother-in-law Stevie to help.

Within an hour, they had the small desk set up in Anthony's room. The four year old was thrilled to have something that had been his Abba's in his room. He quickly put some of his favorite books and toys on the desktop and in the drawers. Just because he could, he put the Hebrew alphabet learning book on his new desk and took a pencil out from the drawer. He traced the letter aleph on the page and then wrote several of his own.

Ziva and Tony watched their son as he concentrated on his writing; Ziva had to suppress a chuckle when the child stuck out his tongue slightly as he worked. He was so much like his father.

"Look Ima; look Abba! I made alephs… aleph for Ima and for Abba, AND for Anthony," he held up the workbook to show off the page with his efforts. He was proud of his letters.

Ziva put a kiss on his forehead, "Very nice, motek." She was about to say something else when the sounds of the twins waking from their nap came over the monitor app on both parents' phones.

"Way to go, kiddo," Tony tousled his boy's hair. "Yours look better than mine."

"I can show you, Abba," Anthony offered. "Then yours can be as good as mine if you practice."

Together, father and son practiced writing the Hebrew letter aleph and then the words Ima and Abba until Tony felt little arms wrap around his legs. He looked down to see Rivka on the left and Beth on the right leg, looking up at him with huge grins on their faces.

"Abba," they said in unison.

"Well, hi there, little Ninjas," he squatted down to their level. "Got a hug for your Abba?" Two little sets of arms wrapped around his neck as he put an arm around each girl and stood up. "Let's go find Tali and get a snack. Come on, Anthony."

In the kitchen, the four DiNozzos found Tali helping her mother prepare snacks for everyone. Each child had a cup of juice, a packet of goldfish crackers, and apple slices. The adults had a bottle of water, a packet of goldfish crackers, and an apple.

"BIS-SEE!" Rivka spotted the packets on the table and squirmed for her Abba to put her down. Ziva took Beth from Tony so the parents could put the girls in their high chairs. Anthony and Tali climbed into their seats at the table.

Tony and Anthony pretended they were hungry sharks in search of food. Tony had his hand on top of his head like a shark fin. The two toddler girls laughed at the antics of their Abba and big brother. Tali munched her snack quietly and watched the silliness. When Beth tried to imitate them, all six ended up laughing.

"Not to interrupt this silliness," Ziva began when she stopped laughing, "But what time tomorrow are you expecting the guys over to help move your desk?"

Tony swallowed his mouthful of the fish-shaped crackers and replied, "I told them to be here around 1000. Tim said his team isn't on call this weekend, so that shouldn't be a problem. The only one who could get called in is Jimmy if another team gets a case with a body. He said his assistant should be able to cover though. Kasie is fully certified now."

"Okay, I was just wondering if we should invite everyone over for the day. The kids can play outside and be out of the way," Ziva was thinking out loud. "Since it is our turn to host the family dinner, we could turn it into an all-day event, if you want."

"Remember that I promised the guys pizza and beer for helping," he reminded his wife. "Sounds like a good plan though. Want me to let the guys know to bring the family?"

Ziva shook her head, "No, I will call Dee, Breena, and Ellie. Is Nick dating anyone currently?"

Tony shrugged, "Dunno; want me to let him know he can bring a plus one?"

~The Desk~

Saturday morning was bright and sunny with seasonable temperatures. The McGee family was the first to arrive and the kids all headed to the play room. Clay and Ellie showed up next, followed by the Palmer family. Breena's brother Stevie followed the Palmers in his own car. Nick was the last one to arrive; he had his girlfriend, Allison, with him.

"Okay, guys, let's get this desk moved," Tony led the men to the garage where the large oak desk sat on its pallet. He'd put two furniture dollies on the floor nearby, hoping they would be able to move the desk to the door to the house by rolling it on the dollies.

"Wow," Tim ran a hand over the desk top. "Oak?"

"Yeah, it was my grandfather's and then Uncle Angelo had it for many years."

Tony motioned to the furniture dollies, "My plan is to lift it onto the dollies and roll it over to the door to the house. Then we can stand it on one of the sides and move it through the door. I've measured and it WILL fit; it'll be a tight fit, but it should go through the door."

The men spread out around the desk ready to lift at the signal from Tony. "One, two, three, LIFT," he called out as each one lifted along the overhang of the desktop.

"Damn, this is heavy," Clay huffed out. "My grip is slipping…"

They set the desk back down; they'd moved it all of about six inches across the pallet. Tony scratched his head as Tim pulled his phone out of his pocket.

"That thing is heavier than I thought it would be," Tony sighed. "At this rate, it'll take all day to get it inside."

Tim read off his phone screen, "Based on the dimensions, it probably weighs between three and four hundred pounds."

Ziva and Breena walked in from the vehicles, carrying bags of soft drinks and snacks. "Take the drawers out," Ziva commented as she passed by.

"Take the drawers out," Tony repeated. "Of course, take the drawers out to make it lighter."

He and Tim pulled out the drawers from the two sides. All of the drawers had contents; some had photo albums, some had large manila envelopes stuffed with more pictures or with newspaper clippings. Clay yanked the center drawer, hoping to remove it. The drawer stopped and would move no further. Clay yanked again, and growled in frustration.

Ziva passed by again on her way to grab more bags of food from the McGee minivan. "Look underneath for a secret release."

Tony gave her a look as she smirked at him. Clay sat down on the pallet and leaned under the center of the desk. Sure enough, there was a small lever to release the drawer from its tracks. He pulled on the lever and the drawer came free of the desk.

With the drawers from the desk in two stacks out of the way, the guys were able to lift the desk onto the furniture dollies and roll it to the door that led into the DiNozzo kitchen. Ziva opened the door just as they came to it.

"Good timing, Ninja," her husband joked. "Hey, how did you know about the secret lever?"

"My father had a desk similar to this one when he worked from home. My Ima discovered the lever quite by accident one day when the drawer became jammed and Eli was in a rage," she explained. "I put the old towels and blankets in a pile so you can protect the wood, and the kitchen floor," she pointed to a stack by the counter near the door.

Tony nodded, "Any other tidbits of wisdom you care to share?"

"If needed, the desk should come apart, that would help you move it through the doors."

"Toda. It SHOULD fit; I measured it."

"Uh huh," Ziva headed out to the backyard with the others, leaving the six men to figure out how to get the desk to its destination.

Tony turned to his buddies, "Next step is to get the desk on one of the sides; then we can shimmy it through the doorway." Nick, Clay, Jimmy, Stevie, and Tim lifted the desk as Tony slid a furniture dolly under the down side to help with moving it forward.

They rolled the desk up to the doorframe. "Um, Tony," Tim sized up the large desk and the door opening. "I don't think this is gonna work. The top's too wide for the door frame." All six looked at where Tim pointed. Sure enough, the credenza top of the desk made the height about three inches too much to fit.

"How about we angle the top through?" Jimmy suggested. "Get one person inside to guide it in and we kinda wiggle it through?"

Nick ran around to the inside. The five in the garage angled the desk so that the top part was into the doorway. Nick grabbed hold of the top and tugged as the others pushed and shifted the angle. Nick tugged really hard and with a loud creak the top of the desk separated from the bottom.

Tony and Tim watched Nick's face as the wood pieces separated; his mouth was in an O shape as he fell backwards with the top of the desk following him. Nick landed on his backside on the kitchen floor and the credenza top part of the desk landed across his body. The pegs that held the two parts together were now visible on the underside of the top piece. Each peg fit into a hole in the desktop.

"What happened?" Clay, Jimmy, and Stevie heard the sound but because they were behind the desk, couldn't see anything.

"That's gonna hurt," Tony observed. "Desk came apart; the top part is currently resting across Nick."

Nick looked up from the floor, "Hey, it's IN the house! Nah, I'm not hurt, but someone get this thing off me." Tony and Jimmy ran around to the inside; together they lifted the top of the desk off the younger man. Luckily, the piece only weighed about eighty pounds, so it didn't do any damage to Nick.

Tim, Clay, and Stevie peered around the bottom part of the desk as the others moved the top part out of the way. Nick checked himself over, figuring he would have some bruises, but nothing serious.

"Looks like this will slide right on in now," Tim motioned to the bottom part of the desk. He handed the second furniture dolly through the doorway to Jimmy. "If we use the old blanket to slide it across the sill, we can move it from one dolly to the other."

"Sounds like a plan," the other five agreed. Clay went back out to the garage to help push as Tony and Nick pulled and guided the bottom portion of the desk through the doorway. Once on the second furniture dolly, it rolled easily to the doorway to Tony's office.

Since that door was a slight bit narrower, they ended up taking the door off the hinges to get the desk through. Jimmy, Nick, Clay, and Stevie lifted the bottom part of the desk to position it where Tony wanted it as Tim carried drawers in from the garage. Clay and Jimmy carried the top part from the kitchen to Tony's office and with Nick's help they got it positioned so that the pegs dropped into the holes on the desktop.

Tony slid the final drawer, the center one, into place with a satisfied smirk. "Thanks! We did it, fellas; let's go get some pizza and beer and chill."

* * *


	4. Photos and Memories

Chapter 4 – Photos and Memories

Tony finally got around to sorting through the photos and other memorabilia from his aunt in July. He'd spent a good bit of June sorting the photographs and documents from Senior's storage locker into categories; he'd wanted to have the older generation pictures separated from his parents and their generation. The pictures of his grandparents, great-grandparents, and extended family were put into a single tote. He kept out a few of the ones that he wanted to have in frames in his office. A second tote held photos of Senior and his brothers as they grew up, and pictures of the cousins on the DiNozzo side of the family. All the pictures of his sister and parents were separated from the ones of his parents with Tony. Again, he kept out a few to display in frames in his office.

Aunt Isabella had been organized in keeping her memories. She even labelled the photo albums and envelopes of pictures that she'd stuffed in the desk drawers with places, dates, and names. The amount of detail she'd included confirmed what Tony had always suspected; Aunt Isabella was the partner with the business sense in the pairing with Uncle Angelo. His uncle had been the baker, the one who created the cakes, breads, pies, cookies, and other treats, while his aunt had been the one who balanced the books, and made sure the business side of the bakery was healthy.

He'd called his aunt about two weeks after the desk arrived and talked with her for over an hour on the phone. Ziva gathered photos and printed some more recent pictures of the kids from her computer to send to the elderly woman. The second phone call had been to tell her that a package of pictures was on the way; the third had been when the package reached its destination. Tony persuaded Ziva to "meet" his aunt on the third call and the two chatted for about fifteen minutes, with Aunt Isabella promising to tell Ziva lots of stories about young Tony when they met in person.

In the evenings during July, one of the hottest Julys on record in the DC area, Ziva often sat with her husband in his home office sorting through the albums and loose pictures from his aunt. Tony enjoyed her company; Ziva often forgot about the discomforts of her third trimester pregnancy. This baby carried differently from the others. He seemed to like to rest on her bladder and, if not there, on her spine. She had much more back pain than with any of her other pregnancies. Baby Leroy Jackson (LJ would be his nickname) seemed determined to make his Ima aware of his growing presence within her womb twenty four seven. About the only time he would calm would be when his Abba placed a hand on Ziva's belly and talked to his developing son.

"OH!" Ziva let out a small gasp and straightened in the chair. Tony looked up at her, figuring LJ had kicked her in the spine again. She grinned and turned the photo album she was holding so he could see the images, "Your elf costume!"

"No…," he groaned and sighed; now that picture would be shown to everyone, especially Tali and Anthony. "Can't we just hide it somewhere?"

"Why? You are so cute in the costume. I guess you were about the same age as the twins are now," Ziva pulled the image from the protective plastic pocket. She flipped it to read the hand-written notation on the reverse side, "Tonio with Dori and Estrella, Christmas 1970. Tonio 1½; Dori, 12½; Estrella, 10."

Ziva set the picture to the side and flipped the page of the photo album; the left side was a single eight by ten photo of what appeared to be all of the DiNozzo grandchildren with the grandparents. She recognized Carmine and Maria from the pictures from Senior's things. She slid the image from the plastic page and held it up for her husband to see.

"Oh, wow!" Tony's eyes skimmed over the image. "Nonna and Babo DiNozzo; and I guess that's all the cousins… If I didn't know that baby was me, I'd swear it was Anthony."

"You look a lot like your grandfather," Ziva could see a strong resemblance between her husband now and his paternal grandfather. "Strong genes, yes?"

She read the notes on the back of the image, "DiNozzo grandchildren: Vinnie, Jr. age 15; Angelo, Jr. age 14; Frankie, age 13; Dori, age 12; Estrella, age 10; Anthony, Jr, age 1½. Christmas 1970. Our sweet angel baby Maggie would have been age 11." Ziva flipped the image back over so she could study the faces. She noticed the small picture of Tony's sister on the end table next to the group. She placed a hand on her belly without thinking about it; Tony noticed and moved over by his wife's side.

"Do you ever still wonder about our angel baby?" he whispered so softly Ziva almost missed his words. "I do, but then I realize that we wouldn't have Tali…" he trailed off as she leaned into his side.

" _There is a time for everything,_ _and a season for every activity under the heavens:_ _a time to be born and a time to die,_ _a time to plant and a time to uproot,_ _a time to kill and a time to heal,_ _a time to tear down and a time to build,_ _a time to weep and a time to laugh,_ _a time to mourn and a time to dance,_ _a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,_ _a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,_ _a time to search and a time to give up,_ _a time to keep and a time to throw away,_ _a time to tear and a time to mend,_ _a time to be silent and a time to speak,_ _a time to love and a time to hate,_ _a time for war and a time for peace."_

At Tony's startled look, she pointed to the photo album that was sitting on the table; the page had shifted to a pre-printed image with the quotation she'd just read aloud. "I believe that says ' _Ecclesiastes 3: 1 – 8_ ' underneath the quote."

"My Uncle Angelo's favorite…"

~The Desk~

Summer turned into September; Tali started second grade right before Labor Day while Anthony started daily pre-kindergarten. Ziva's growing belly made for some uncomfortable times; baby LJ seemed to love kicking her in the spine or bladder. She had almost constant back pain.

Tony, and often Ziva, chatted with Aunt Isabella on the phone every other Saturday. Tali and Anthony had also talked with their great-aunt briefly. A drive up to New Jersey over the Columbus Day weekend was postponed due to Ziva's discomfort. When LJ made his appearance two weeks early in the wee hours of the holiday Monday morning, both DiNozzo parents were glad they'd stayed at home.

The death of Ducky Mallard, "Grandducky" to the kids, eleven days after LJ's birth hit all of the extended family hard. It would be a month after the baby made his appearance that the DiNozzo clan would finally get to meet their great-aunt in New Jersey. Veterans' Day fell on a Thursday, allowing for a four day weekend since Tali and Anthony's schools had teacher work days on Friday. Anthony told anyone who would listen that his school had off for his Ima's birthday.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N For the story of Tony and Ziva's "angel baby" see Aftermath. Sequel (visit with Aunt Isabella) coming soon.


End file.
